By Anna Louw
Police believe a 15-year-old boy masterminded the brutal murder of the wife of a former National Party cabinet minister and then watched while the woman was throttled.
Jac Rabie, 68, the minister of population development in the National Party government of FW De Klerk, and his wife Sandra were viciously attacked at their Boksburg home on the night of December 14.
Sandra, who would have celebrated her 48th birthday the week after the attack, died at the scene from her injuries.
The boy and two other youths appeared in the Boksburg magistrate's court this week in connection with her murder.
Rabie said that the day after the attack, detectives told him that the 15-year-old, whom the politician and his wife both knew well, had mentioned to their neighbour that the Rabies kept a large sum of money in a safe at their home.
"But we did not have any money in the house. My wife took all the money and paid our bills the previous day. There were some documents in the safe, but that was all," Rabie said.
Speaking to The Star on Wednesday from his home in the upmarket Boksburg suburb of Windmill Park, Rabie said he had spoken to the 15-year-old during his court appearance.
"He said he wanted to explain about my wife's horrible death, but I said 'You can explain it all to the magistrate'," Rabie said.
He said 2006 had been his annus horribilis (terrible year).
On the wall in the passage where the crime was committed are photos of Rabie and his wife with former National Party cabinet ministers and their wives. There is also an enlarged colour photograph of Sandra pasted onto the mirror of the dressing table in the main bedroom.
The security at the house, which is one of the most expensive in the suburb, is tight.
Looking emotionally drained, Rabie explained that, on the night of the attack, three gunmen had beaten and pistol-whipped his wife when she returned home at 11pm after visiting a friend.
She was overpowered and throttled by the men when she stopped outside their garage.
The attackers then entered the house, dragged her around and threw her onto the floor, where she died of her injuries.
Rabie said he was asleep when the men brought his wife into the house and pulled him out of bed.
He said the attackers struck him on the mouth with the butt of a firearm, bound his feet with a wire coat hanger and dragged him into the passage, where they threw him down next to Sandra.
"One of the attackers called out to her, and when she did not move, he fetched some water and threw it in her face," Rabie said.
He said an autopsy had shown that the force with which the attackers grabbed Sandra around her throat had broken one of the vertebrae in her neck. But the death blow, according to Rabie, was to her left temple, which may have been inflicted with the butt of a firearm.
The couple's adopted teenage son, Diego, arrived home shortly after the attack. The gunmen took him to a bedroom, where he was threatened.
Diego then went to his mother's lifeless body, took the key to the safe out of her bra, where she kept it hidden, and handed it to the gunmen, who then tied him up and drove off in the couple's Chrysler.
After the men left, the son managed to untie himself and called for help. When paramedics arrived at the scene, Sandra was pronounced dead.
A devastated Rabie said the police told him that the 15-year-old boy had allegedly stood at the electronic gate that night and saw his wife being throttled.
The boy is being held at a place of safety in southern Joburg.
The case was postponed to next week and police are looking for a fourth suspect.